Screen Australia announces development funding for Cate Blanchett and 22 other projects

In addition to the CateBlanchett project with Matchbox Films listed above, Screen Australia released the following information on new funding grants.

A cult is also at the centre of another high-end TV project, Trust – a drama based on a journalist’s mission to expose a shadowy movement surrounded by conspiracy theories and deception.

Supernatural themes are explored in several projects including Cargo, a zombie thriller with uniquely Aboriginal influences which is one of producer KristinaCeyton’s next features following TheBabadook. BryanBrown and RachelWard will collaborate in a film version of RandolphStow’s post-apocalyptic novel Tourmaline. UFOs are the subject of Skydoor, while Vanished is a ghost story.

The Murderous Urges of Ordinary Women and ET & Me are two of several delightful comedies supported, together with writer/director StephanElliott’s project FlammableChildren, kooky, satirical musical Emo (TheMusical) by writer and first time director NeilTriffett, and larrikin-style yarn Digger by talented creative duo AlexandraBlue and DaveWade. The humour is more bittersweet in Jan Chapman and RichardRoxburgh’s film project Babyteeth, and Death is for the Living written by MariekeHardy and KirstyFisher.

Serious drama unfolds in TheDevil’s Feather, the story of a damaged war correspondent who faces her demons in the South Australian bush, and in KimMordaunt’s PinkMist, in late development, which follows an Australian mission to Angola, Africa. HoneyTrap is a complex story of teen friendship turned murderous, and To the Bitter End is a thriller on the high seas steered by executive producer SueMaslin (The Dressmaker). TheFabulist, written by Adam Gyngell, is a drama inspired by a true story of a charismatic con artist and a magazine editor desperate to believe his story.

Family intrigue is the theme of drama Vatersache, also produced by KristinaCeyton (The Babadook) with SamanthaJennings. This is the first feature film to be written and directed by short filmmaker ShaneDanielsen whose recent title TheGuests screened In Competition at the Cannes Film Festival 2015.

The siege in Sydney’s Lindt Café is a turning point for young Muslims in the cultural identity drama Does My Head Look Big in This? in which two teenage girls find themselves the focus of community hostility and are forced to reconsider their own relationship to their religion.

Taking a more gentle approach to drama is TheGhan, in which Australia’s iconic train journey is the setting for a story of friendship and travel; The Renovator’s Dream in which a DIY home improvement becomes a neighbourhood detective story; and Nothing Else Mattress, a poignant tale of teen angst amidst change.

Nerida Moore, senior development executive, says: “The titles we’ve announced today reflect a really exciting slate of projects and associated talent. They’re very individual in approach and each will have its own unique creative journey ahead. The recent changes to our Story Development Guidelines reflect our appreciation for the individual creative process and the ongoing need for flexibility in the ways we offer support. We look forward to seeing more innovation and imagination as these projects flourish.”